By Our Correspondent, Arusha
ARUSHA: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) and the Prime Minister’s Office through TAMISEMI, is equipping secondary school teachers with practical digital skills aimed at strengthening teaching, learning and assessment in Tanzania.
The initiative forms part of a four-day training on the ICT Competency Standards for Teachers in Tanzania (ICT-CSTT), designed to prepare teachers to undertake the course through a blended learning approach while strengthening their ability to integrate information and communication technology (ICT) meaningfully into classroom practice.
The training focuses on the beginner and intermediate tracks of the ICT-CSTT course, while also providing participants with an overview of the advanced track. Teachers are expected to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in their respective schools and support other teachers in strengthening their digital teaching competencies.
One of the practical areas of the training was the use of Kahoot, an interactive digital learning platform that enables teachers to create learning activities, assign tasks, engage learners and assess their understanding.
The Kahoot session was facilitated by Mr Jonas Emmanuel Meyan, a trainer from Munduli Teachers College, who took teachers through the platform step by step, demonstrating how it can be applied to real classroom situations.
Mr Meyan guided teachers on how to create their own Kahoot accounts, either through a Google account or by registering manually. He explained that having an account enables teachers to create groups for their students, prepare learning activities and assignments and manage digital learning sessions.
The teachers were shown how to create an activity based on a particular lesson or topic, beginning with a clear and memorable title related to the subject being taught. They were then guided on how to prepare different types of questions, provide instructions and organise the content required for learners to undertake the activity.
The practical demonstration followed the journey of a digital learning activity from the teacher to the learner.
Once the teacher has prepared an activity, the link to the Kahoot activity can be shared with the intended students. While the teacher works through the Kahoot.com platform to create and manage learning activities, students can access and participate in assigned activities through Kahoot.it using their digital devices.
The students can then join the designated activity and respond to the questions prepared by their teacher. This gives learners an opportunity to participate actively in the lesson and demonstrate their understanding of the content being taught.
As learners participate, the teacher can follow their engagement and review their responses. This provides an additional means of identifying areas that learners have understood and those requiring further explanation, reinforcement or support.
The process enables the teacher to connect classroom instruction with assessment, using information from learners’ responses to guide subsequent teaching.
Teachers were also shown how to use existing teaching materials to develop interactive activities rather than preparing every digital resource from scratch. PDF materials can be transformed into interactive Kahoot activities using the Kahoot Generator, while presentation slides can also be imported and adapted for interactive learning.
Mr Meyan further explained the platform’s free and paid features, enabling teachers to understand the different options available and select tools that correspond with their teaching needs.
The practical session demonstrated that digital technology can serve a wider educational purpose beyond simply making lessons more entertaining. When used appropriately, digital tools can support lesson preparation, learner engagement, formative assessment and the identification of areas where students require additional support.
The teachers were subsequently given an opportunity to put the skills they had acquired into practice through a practical Kahoot exercise.
Teacher Valeria Paulinus Urio from Ilboru Secondary School emerged as the first-place winner, an achievement that left her delighted and confident about applying the skills in her classroom.
“The Kahoot skills I have acquired will help me make my lessons more interactive and enable my students to participate actively in the learning process. I believe these skills will benefit not only my students but also contribute to the wider development of our country through improved digital learning,” she said.
Teacher Urio said the skills would help her introduce more interactive learning activities while creating additional opportunities to engage students and assess their understanding.
Her experience demonstrated the importance of combining theoretical instruction with hands-on practice, enabling teachers to develop not only knowledge of digital tools but also the confidence required to apply them in real classroom situations.
The training reflects a broader effort to strengthen teachers’ digital competencies so that ICT becomes a meaningful component of teaching, learning, assessment and professional development.
The importance of this investment extends beyond the teachers attending the training. As participants take the acquired skills back to their schools and support their colleagues, the knowledge can reach more teachers and, ultimately, more learners.
This raises a larger question for Tanzania’s education system: What would the country’s classrooms look like if teachers across Tanzania had the confidence and competence to use digital learning tools effectively?
It could mean classrooms where learners are more actively engaged, teachers have additional ways of assessing understanding and digital resources become part of everyday teaching rather than occasional additions to the learning process.
For learners, the long-term benefit could extend beyond individual lessons by helping them develop digital confidence, collaboration, problem-solving and other competencies increasingly required in a technology-driven society.
For Tanzania, strengthening teachers’ digital competence is therefore more than an investment in technology. It is an investment in the teachers who will prepare the country’s next generation.
The technology will continue to evolve and new platforms will emerge. But the teacher will remain at the centre of the transformation.
If teachers across Tanzania embrace digital learning and develop the confidence to use it meaningfully, the classrooms of tomorrow could be more interactive, more connected and better prepared for a digital future.
The transformation, ultimately, begins with the teacher.
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